Using the Pre-Chat Form

The Pre-Chat Form gives you the option to gather more information from visitors before allowing them to enter a chat. It can also be handy to help you qualify new prospects.

Be aware that enabling a Pre-Chat Form is likely to decrease the number of chats you receive from visitors on your site. So if you're interested in receiving more chats, we would recommend leaving the Pre-Chat Form disabled. 

NOTE: The instructions below can only be completed from a browser or the tawk.to desktop apps. They cannot be completed in the tawk.to mobile app.

To set up your Pre-Chat Form, select the ⚙️Administration (gear) icon in the upper tab menu. Then, under Channels, select Chat Widget.

Clicking Edit Content under the Widget Content heading will open a new window that allows complete customization of all the content displayed as part of your chat widget, including changing the language.

The widget preview on the right side of the screen shows how the widget will appear on desktop if you save the changes you've made while editing the widget content.

Under Widget State, click the Pre-Chat option.

You’ll see a toggle switch below the widget state options to enable or disable the form.

Toggle the switch to the on position (green) to activate the form.

To add a message to your widget, click + Add in the upper right of the Header Cards section and select Text Area.

To edit the text, hover over the card content block and click the pencil icon.

Customize your Text Area card with a message asking your visitor to fill out the form.

For example, you could write: “Please fill out the form below to start chatting with the next available agent.”

Then add a Form card to your Body Cards section. When you click to edit the form, you’ll be able to choose the fields you’ll ask visitors to complete before they speak with an agent.

Name and email address fields are included by default. To make a question mandatory, click the button with the star icon to the right of the question field.

Remember to click the green Save button after adding or editing any questions. Your chat widget updates automatically after saving. No need to update the widget code in your page’s HTML.

You can also choose from any of the following:

This feature allows you to send the chat to a department you have set up in your tawk.to account. 

Only agents added to that department will receive a chat notification.

You must set up at least one department in your tawk.to account to enable this feature.

Learn how to create departments here: Creating and managing departments.

This field allows visitors to enter a phone number. The number will be added to your tawk.to contacts for follow-up.

Visitors enter answers into a simple text field.

Visitors see a larger field suited to longer answers.

Multiple choice questions allow visitors to choose one or more options from a list of pre-set answers. Click on the “+” button to add a question.

Options choice questions allow visitors to choose a single option from a list of pre-set answers. Click on the “+” button to add an option.

Any information entered in the Pre-Chat Form will be displayed at the top of the chat once the answers have been submitted, so the agent answering the chat will be able to begin the conversation with some insight about the person they’re assisting.

Need help? Reach out to our support team or schedule a call.